Armenia’s finance minister unveils plan to increase defense budget

According to him, deal envisages the sale of weapons for the internal prices valid in the Russian Federation.

“Under the proposed scheme, the Ministry of Defense receives the supply of goods; the money is then paid to Russian contractors who deliver the supplies to Armenia,” he told reporters.

Aramyan added that the 2017 State Budget proposes increasing the Defense Ministry’s annual expenses by 26-27 billion Armenian Drams (AMD 478 = USD1) in case of a 4% GDP growth. Asked whether the plan is linked to the concerns stemming from the April 2016 war, the minister did not rule out possible risks.

“But it wasn’t before or after the April war that the risk existed in essence. We have been facing that risk since the 1994 ceasefire. So we always put the emphasis on the expenditures in the defense sector to maintain the balance as a certain guarantee of peace,” he added.